A BETTER Way to Stretch Your Neck and Shoulders

Here’s a tip on a BETTER way to stretch your neck, trap, and shoulder muscles.

Hi everyone, Dr. Rowe here at SpineCare in St. Joseph, MI. One of the biggest issues I've seen due to modern technology is that we are constantly shrugging our shoulders up to our ears, especially due to using cell phones or sitting at a desk or computer for too long of a time. So if that sounds familiar, don’t worry because that’s like 99% of the population right there. 

Now, I’m sure that you’ve had neck pain or tightness before and have used a stretch similar to this, where you grab your neck and then pull it over to one side. The problem is that it’s only addressing the neck, and not hitting the traps and shoulders which are also getting tensed by shrugging due typing or using our phones for hours on end.

So we can stretch our neck out all day, but if we don't figure out that shrug, it's all going to be just a temporary fix. Luckily, one of the easiest ways to solve this and help how to release shoulder and trap tension is to incorporate the movement into the stretch you're already doing.

So let’s go back to that stretch and add something in to target this spot. I’ll have you start of doing a shrug all the way up on one side, to where you can’t shrug any further. Then grab, and pull over to one side. So this is the important step, start to go the OTHER way with your shoulder, like you’re trying to reach for the ground. That’s going to give you a lot better stretch in the outer neck and trap, and will help not only with the neck, but into the shoulder and trap also.

So shrug up, then stretch, and reach for the ground. Just 3 simple steps for some great relief.

Give it a try, get your neck feeling better, and if you have any comments or questions, leave them below and I’ll get back to you soon.

Thanks!

Chiropractor in St. Joseph MI — Dr. Michael Rowe

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